First-year Arts Program Inaugurated

Week of Activities Exposes 40 Entering Students to Music, Drama, Painting and More

Tempers flared last Thursday night in Agassiz Theatre as participants in the First-year Arts Program (FAP) discussed issues like the "Piss Christ" exhibit at the NEA, a photograph of a crucifix dipped in urine.

Moments later though, when the group photo was taken and the 40 first-years yelled enthusiastically "The arts!" as the camera clicked, personal differences were set aside.

The debate and the photo are just two of dozens of activities that "fappers" participated in last week. The first-years spent last week touring art museums, composing original music, writing poetry and acting on stage during the program's first summer.

FAP joins the Freshman Urban Program and the Freshman Outdoor Program to offer first years a week of pre-orientation activities before Freshman Week.

"I was sitting around in the freshman advising sessions last year and heard about FOP and FAP," said Alan Symonds '69, director of FAP and Technical Director for College Theatre Programs. "I thought to myself, why not the arts? Why not another vowel?"

Symonds sent a query to Dean of Freshman, Elizabeth S. Nathans, who immediately responded with an enthusiastic go-shead, according to Symonds.

"[FAP] has the same goals as the other programs like getting used to Harvard, getting to know people, etc," Symonds said.

While foppers trecked through the mountains and as fuppies worked their way through the city, FAP participants explored Harvard's hidden arts resources, Symonds said.

The first generation of FAP participants seem to agree that the program has been an valuable head start to their Harvard careers.

"I can only hope that the rest of my time here at Harvard will be as good as this week has been," said Gabriella N. Skirnick '99, a member of a FAP group which prepared an exhibit at the Carpenter Center.

"I've been able to explore a lot of different venues that I never even dreamed of, said Candice I. Hoyes '99. "[The program] has definitely surpassed anything I ever did in high school."

Symonds said one of his goals for the program was to expose students to a wide variety of the arts in order to avoid what he calls the "tracking phenomenon," in which students latch on to specific identities early on in their college careers.

"People who do theater rarely get into the art museums. Artists also rarely get into the theaters," Symonds said, "All of these threads should interlock."